פרשת אחרי-קדשים
בזאת יבא אהרן אל הקודש | ויקרא ט"ז, ג'
With this shall Aharon enter the Kodesh
The posuk in Mishlei desribres the Torah as יקרה היא מפנינים – more precious than gems.
The Gemarah in הויריות י"ג expounds this further. יקרה היא מפנינים – מכהן גדול שנסנס לפני ולפנים, the Torah is more precious than the Kohen Gadol who enters the קדש הקדשים – the inner sanctuary on Yom Hakippurim.
Rav Yisroel Salanter ztvk”l explains that the Kohen Gadol is the most spiritually elevated person among the Yidden, Yom Hakipurim is the holiest day of the year, the קדש הקדשים is the most sacred place on earth.
Thus, when the Kohen Gadol entered the קדש הקדשים on Yom Hakippurim, the three pinnacles of holiness – that of mankind, time and place, coincide, How could anything surpass such holiness?
Yet שלמה המלך explains, יקרה היא מפנינים the holiness of the Torah is greater than this awesome moment when the Kohen Gadol entered the קדש הקדשים on Yom Hakippurim!
Rav Yisroel Salanters’s message is that through Torah study, anyone has the ability to reach the lofty level that the Kohen Gadol attained on Yom Hakippurim when he entered the קדש הקדשים.
Undoubtedly this is compounded many fold when we are the Teachers of Torah to the pure and innocent children. We have the zechus to tap into this holiness on a daily basis.
About the Author: Rabbi Yisroel Meir Rubinfeld
Rabbi Rubinfeld has been in the field of Torah education for over 3 decades and serves as an Executive School Consultant for Torah Umesorah. He provides an array of services to schools across North America, including teacher and principal mentorship, school and curricula evaluations, professional development and parent education.
Rabbi Rubinfeld's expertise includes classroom management and discipline, effective instruction, bullying, cultivating sensitivity in the classroom, impulse disorders (such as ADHD and ODD), and balancing the educational needs of mainstream and special needs children in the classroom.
Rabbi Rubinfeld is the also the founder and director of Torah Umesorah's Lilmod U'Lilamed department which provides professional development for teachers and principals throughout the year.
Rabbi Rubinfeld is a talmid of the distinguished Yeshivos of Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin, the Mirrer Yeshiva in Yerushalayim and Bais Medrash Govoha in Lakewood.
